Detroit officials talk Project 14

Detroit officials say a plan to lure police officers back to the city is being implemented and will likely expand.

The city rolled out what it calls Project 14last month, and briefed the Detroit City Council about it Monday.

The goal is to lure Detroit cops living in the suburbs back to the city with housing incentives in two neighborhoods.

Karla Henderson heads the city’s Planning Department and Project 14. She says the program was inspired by Detroiters’ talking about how things were different when more cops lived in the city, "not only in terms of response time, but in terms of the impact it has had on these neighborhoods in which they did used to have police officers.”

Henderson says the city hopes to add more neighborhoods to the program next month, and expand it to other city employees later this year.

Detroit Councilman Gary Brown is a former police officer. He thinks the city may have rolled out the program too soon.

“There’s so many details that have to be worked out with this particular program that I think we would have been a little better served to get it worked out first and then rolled it out.”

Most Council members expressed qualified support for any program that aims to increase Detroit’s population. Census data released later this week is expected to show the city’s population has dipped below 800,000 residents.